Sun River Farm in Mendon offers fresh organic produce

BRIGHT DISPLAY: Some of the produce at Sun River Farm. / Photo by M. Kathryn Hanberg

By M. Kathryn Hanberg

February 4, 2008 | MENDON -- The year 1998 involved a life-changing event for James Haggerty. He had been hit by a car, and because of the extent of his injuries took a year off from his job. It was during this year he chose to make some changes.

Up to the day of the accident, he ran Sun River Organics in Salt Lake City, but as he said, "If you don't get up and love what you do, you might as well get a new job." It was because of this perspective Haggerty chose to use the money from his settlement to purchase his own land for an organic farm.

After the purchase of 4.6 acres in Elwood, Utah, Haggerty's wife chose to attend Utah State University. Due to the daily commute from Elwood to Logan, the Haggerty family bought a home in Mendon. This is where the second Sun River Farm was formed. A 1.75 acre field was purchased, bringing the total farm acreage to 6.35 acres. This amount has been enough to sustain Sun River Farm for seven years.

At the time Sun River Farm formed in Utah, there was only one other CSA -- community supported agriculture -- in Utah.

The CSA is a way to build ties and networking systems between local farmers and local consumers. It is a system to "steal each other's ideas as a way to constantly increase your learning curves," Haggerty said.

Though Sun River Farm started by being a vendor at the local farmers market, it has now grown to selling 60 shares per year. This is about 100 families in Salt Lake City and Logan combined. A share is a single payment at the beginning of the year to receive weekly vegetables during the season. This adds up to 18 weeks of delivery. The season is the second week of June to the third week of October.

Shares are sold as a half share for $200 or a whole share for $400. The vegetables average out to be about five items per share per week.

Though currently the items delivered each week are predominately up to the company, Sun River Farm is working to revise a plan to provide more customization. This will allow the customer to choose half of the items while the company chooses the other half.

Sun River Farm's delivery is so dependable that in the seven years of business, there has only been one unsuccessful delivery.

Being a CSA farm can be a challenge from year to year. Because of this, shares are paid prior to the growing season. Sun River Farm grows 40 different vegetables, and hundreds of varieties. They grow over 100 types of tomatoes. The farm is "extremely diverse because I love it," Haggerty said.

There are many benefits to eating organic and locally grown food. One benefit is the food miles. This is the number of miles the food traveled from the field to your plate. Food bought in grocery stores is often shipped from across the country, whereas the farthest Sun River Farm produce is shipped is 90 minutes south. This is mutually beneficial. It secures consumers' access to the produce each week, eliminates the middleman and provides the freshest produce you can find, Haggerty said.

Another benefit is the impact on the environment. By rotating crops and tilling thousands of pounds of compost into the soil per year, the soil can build up rather than erode away. This also reduces the amount of harmful insects, which reduces the amount of pesticides used.

"Like a lion that goes after the weakest in the herd, the insects generally go after the weakest plants," Haggerty said.

There are many other ways to care for the crop as well. Along with those mentioned above, having crop diversity, using a floating row cover and only using organic pesticides can not only reduce the amount of insects, but the pesticide residue found on the plants as well, Haggerty said.

Floating row covers can be used for more than insect protection. They can also be used to reduce frost. This increases the crop season. A floating row cover is a cover that is draped over the crop that can allow water, air and light in while keeping insects and cold out.

Sun River Farm is anxious to learn of new ideas. If the demand is great enough, there may be an option for a student share which would cover early September through late October. This would provide some of the best crops of the season.

There is also the possibility to buy any extra produce at the drop-off sight during season. That takes place every Wednesday from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at Sweet Peas Market in Logan. If you are interested in buying a share or providing suggestions, visit Sun River Farm's Web site or e-mail Haggerty at sunriverfarm@yahoo.com.

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